Batman Beyond: The Legacy Continues (The Lost Series Rundown)
by Jetplague
Summary: A retrospective look back of Jetplague's (aka - Jeff Walker) incomplete The Legacy Continues series. For those that read and loved The Legacy Returns, this is the series he was working on to continue the Batman Beyond story. Included is his first unfinished work - Frozen In Time (some additional writing added) and a complete rundown of the series in total.
1. Beyond The Legacy: A Retrospective Of My

It's hard to believe I wrote this fan fiction nearly 20 years ago, but I'm amazed at how successful it was and still is to this day.

I'm Jeff Walker, the writer and fanboy of Batman Beyond.

When the show ended with only 2 seasons I was pretty dismayed (much like the rest of the fan base out there) I wanted it to go on and continue with more of Terry as the new Batman and give us a deeper glimpse into the futuristic Gotham. But no, they ended it and didn't even have any closure.

Well, that didn't sit too well with me at all. I had begun writing fan fiction back in the early part of 2003, it mainly was focused on Star Wars and Doctor Who (My two big faves at the time). But then I thought, Batman Beyond never really got any closure…so I started writing a final episode I could enjoy myself.

As I started visualizing and shaping the story, I thought, "Maybe he should just leave…and then return to Gotham many years later." So thats when I scrapped the final episode and ambitiously created a brand new series idea. Yes, I wanted to write this as a whole series of stories.

Batman Beyond: The Legacy Returns was only the pilot episode for what was going to be a on-going series. How or why I thought this would work at the time was rather strange, especially as I re-read the story today. The story arc would set up the scene for the continuation of the adventures of Terry as an adult version of Batman. And I had kind of plotted out the stories to follow as I wrote each new episode.

Thus I started the title - Batman Beyond: The Legacy Continues. My first episode was going to be about a new Mr. Freeze and his link to Mr. Smiley. It showed some promise and I posted up most of the chapter up on with a lot of interest. It was going well…. until I started getting a life. I'm not going to lie, I was a very, very….VERY… lonely man. So I tended to stay home, write or draw (having failed to become a professional Graphic Designer) and pretty much sunk into a depression.

Depression is very hard to get out from. It can make you think terrible thoughts, affect your creative side by blocking it, and give you a downward look on life. So, before my life could take a very bad turn, I instead decided to turn it back… and choose to live. To make a long and boring story short….I found a great woman, got married, and have two energetic kids that keep me occupied.

I know what you're thinking right now.

"Ok…so you found happiness…whoopee doo…what happened to The Legacy Continues?"

To make an even longer topic short: Nothing happened with it.

I wrote one chapter and that was it. I've never completed the story and I didn't write anymore afterwords. Why? Well, because it was at this stage of my life I realized I wanted to create my own original stories. I was tired of writing characters created by others (fun as was to write about and fully grasp completely), I wanted to begin my own 'legacy' as it were.

Fan fiction is great practice, no doubt about it, but it can only get you so far. That, and it doesn't pay anything. If I could just get paid for writing all that fan fiction - that would be sweet! But, no…there's nothing like that. Other than Amazon's fan fiction selected (and acquired titles) that forced you two write in their confined universes. But nothing I found interesting.

So what was The Legacy Continues and what stories had I imagined?

As I said earlier, I started writing about a new version of Mr. Freeze and continuing Terry's adventures as Batman. What I have written is pretty much it. The story chapter gives him a new lair to work out of, his relationship to Max and the introduction of the new villain. Attached to the end of the story will be a summary of how the event would have turned out and the conclusion. That's all I can give you for that. Sorry, but I have no interest in continuing the writing on it any further.

I'll even give brief summaries of where the other stories where going and the ultimate end of the series - which was going to lead to other new series ideas.

If you want to continue on with the series on my behalf, contact me and let me know. Or at least give me an acknowledgement in your story of where you obtained the idea from. There was already one fan who carried over Mr. Smiley to his/her story…. I have yet to find it (It was so long ago when they asked.)

Frozen In Time - the title literally speaks volume about this chapter. It will never be finished and is forever on pause. Having re-read it (and wanting to edit it) I found that it was still rather good and held up nicely. I truly do wish I could complete the work and make this series for all of you…but I'm not in that mindset anymore. My destiny is to write my short stories and books. (Go see them at: .com )

Batman in the future was awesome to write about. Not to mention the established characters. I knew everything about them and how they would have interacted, I just seemed to enjoy delving into that universe and playing out their lives. It was fun.

To all the fans that loved The Legacy Returns…I thank you and I hope you continue to enjoy that story. As a tribute to you and the many that will discover it, I give you the unfinished work I began so long ago. I am deeply sorry for not continuing with it and hope that you will at least try to support my new endeavour. If you loved these stories…come and check out the original ones I've created.

Thank you all so very much for the support and let's hope one day they'll make a Batman Beyond movie…or…. as a new series, perhaps?

\- Jeff Walker

May 25, 2019


	2. Frozen In Time (2019 revised)

To all those that enjoyed 'The Legacy Returns', I thank you for reading and hope that I can continue to bring you interesting stories and action packed adventures. Each new "episode" of The Legend Continues will be posted on their own and won't be tacked on to one posting. For those just joining this new adventure, I suggest you go and read Batman Beyond: The Legacy Returns to understand where and when this story takes place.

And now…the series begins again.

Batman Beyond: The Legend Continues - The Series

Based on "Batman" created by Bob Kane and the "Batman Beyond" Animated series.

By Jetplague (a.k.a.) Jeff Walker

\- November 26, 2011

Gotham City.

A hub of never ending buildings, flashing neon lights and holographic displays glistening in the night air, a busy city full of air traffic and loud noise. In the depths of this labyrinth of chaos is a guarded building of Wayne Enterprises, one of the many technology labs that store some of the latest in computer and technological achievements. The few guards that walk about the base of the building keep a regular pace as they go about their nightly duties. Two men walk up to the guards in similar uniforms and greet each other; the time has come for a shift change once again.

"Hey Phil!" The on duty Afro-American guard says. "You guys are kinda early."

"Yeah." His other younger Caucasian partner says. "Usually you're draggin' your butts and nearly missing the punch-in time. What gives?"

The bulky middle-aged Caucasian man they're addressing gives a sigh and rubs the back of his neck. The guy beside him, an Asian American, looks lean and well built. He folds his arms over as the two stop to chat with the guards and gives a bit of a smirk as he sees his friend try to explain.

"Well…the wife has been giving me crap about all that lately. Frankly, I think I just want to get the dreg out of there before she gets on my case again." Phil says with a tired look.

"Man, you're whipped." The Asian American friend laughs.

"I ain't whipped!" Phil says back in anger. "She ain't the boss of me! I can do whatever I want…."

"Yeah…so long as she lets ya." The friend snickers.

Just as the guard was about to lash out again, a deep, yet serious sounding male voice booms out from the shadows beyond their view.

"Sounds like the woman is cold to me."

The guards notice the eerie glow of the man's red round eyes as he slowly steps forward; the night still hides his whole appearance from them but soon raises his hand up at them. The hand is light blue with grey metal strips around his wrist, as he continues to walk forward with it palm open to them, the guards draw out their weapons and face him.

"Ok buddy that's far enough! Put both hands up and stay where you are." Phil shouts to him in a commanding tone.

"Aren't you supposed to say…Freeze." The mysterious man says as he stops.

Suddenly a large blue blast of energy comes out of the man's hand and hits the group of guards standing there, a sudden gasp from them all is the only moment they have before they quickly begin to turn to ice. The mysterious man turns off his strange power as soon as the guards are completely frozen over. The sound of his footsteps can be heard as he walks up to the men incased in ice and taps on it with his finger.

"Now you are just as cold as she is…a perfect match."

Another wintry blast from the man's hand now directs at the building's doors, the freezing cold turns it into pure ice and shatters to pieces from the severe temperature. As the mist and shards of the ice settle, the intruder stands in the entrance and glares into the opening with his glowing red eyes. More night guards come running down the hall as the man walks down in a calm pace. Each of them tries to stop him as they come in his path, but are met with a similar chilling fate. Now using both hands, the intruder uses his strange cold powers to stop them all. As he turns down the hallway and heads for a door that reads:

NO UNAUTHORIZED PERSONALE – TECHLAB RESEARCH BAY AREA

As the silhouetted individual reaches the door, he once again brings both of his similar styled hands up and prepares to blast his way through them. Unknowing to him, a lone young male security guard is hiding near by and prepares to leap at him. With a smile on the guards face, he jumps out and reaches over to grab the intruder.

"I got you now, Frosty!"

As he touches the blue shoulder of the man, his hand instantly freezes and soon spreads to the rest of his body as he becomes frozen like the rest of the security staff. The man screams in pain as the cold becomes unbearable, a short moment that last for only a second as he soon becomes silent and solid. The extremely cold man looks over his shoulder and stares at him with those round red eyes. A grey faceplate covers his features and the red eyes he bore looked as if they were built into the mask itself. He looked more like a robot close up; his entire body was blue with grey metal wrapped around him like the design of a computer chip.

"Forgive my cold shoulder…but I have other matters to attend too." The icy man quipped.

He removed the guards hand from his person by lifting it off slowly, once he was clear of it, he turned back to the doors and blasted them open just as he did earlier. Entering the dark room, the man placed his hands on his hips and stood proudly as he stepped in.

"Now where is it I wonder?" The cold man whispers to himself.

Stepping into the room he wanders through the many devices and prototype creations laying about on tables and protected behind glass safety walls. As he walks though the room, the cold from his feet freezes each step; icy footprints are all he leaves behind as he wanders through the place. Suddenly he stops in his tracks and notices something in the distance, his red eyes focus on a small black box on the table and saunters over to look at it. As he opens the lid, his unemotional round red eyes almost reflect the object he now sees.

"Success." He says with pride. "One down…many more to go."

••••••••••••••••••••••

Across the city, in a boardroom in the Wayne Enterprises, Terry McGinnis sits in his chair at the head of a very long black boardroom table. Wearing a dark blue suit and a white shirt, the young man's sleeves where rolled up to the arms and his jacket hanging off the back of the black chair he was in. The lights are dimmed down and a few papers are lying in front of him as he holds his head in his hands. The long day of working have drained him out and now gives a soft sigh as he struggles with being the head of a major corporation. Tapping on the door at the other end of the room, a female voice calls into him as he sits alone in the dark.

"Mr. McGinnis? Sir?"

"Yes Rosie…what is it?" Terry responds loudly so she can hear him.

"Sir…the meeting ended hours ago. Are you alright?"

"Yes I'm fine."

The man rises out of his seat and walks over to the door. Opening it slowly he glances up at the older woman's face. The middle aged Caucasian woman, with her fading blond hair and thin silver rimmed glasses, gives him a comforting smile as she finally sees him face to face.

"Oh there you are!" She giggles. "Sir, I'm about to leave for the rest of the night…do you need anything else before I go."

"No, thank you Rosie." McGinnis smirked at her. "I'm really ok. I'm just drained from the meeting with the Wayne stockholders."

"Don't stay up too late." She said as she closed her small red leather purse. It seemed to match her outfit, which also was red leather and very business-like attire. "We've got another meeting with some of the other company executives and the employee unions and…uhm…oh yes…Mr. Smythe called again."

Terry gave a long sigh and his eyes drooped down with a tired expression.

"Yes, yes…fine. I won't forget all that. What did Mr. Smythe want?"

"Lunch." Rosie smiled as she finally closed her purse and looked back up at him. "He wants to meet with you tomorrow…the restaurant name and number is on my desk if you like to see?"

"Thanks Rosie…Bruce hired an ace secretary, glad you're here to help me with all of this."

She patted him on the face and gave him kiss on the forehead.

"Thank you Terry. I'm sorry you don't want to keep this company any longer, but I'll try to do the best job I can to help you see it handed over."

The woman gave him one last look and walked down the hall towards the elevator, Terry quickly closed the door and leaned up against it with his back.

"Right." He breathed. "Handed over…more like torn apart bit by bit."

As he walked over to his chair, he took a moment to stare out the window of the room. The long wide glass was nearly the size of the room's width; the view was spectacular as night showed all of Gotham in its electric glow. Putting his hands in his pockets, the young man gazed out and folded his arms together.

"Sorry Bruce. But believe me…I think it's for the best."

Suddenly, the phone on his boardroom table began to beep and the light on it flashed repeatedly. Turning it on, a holographic image of Police Commissioner Maxine Gibson appeared in a half frame visual. Her hair was still in it's same ponytail fashion and the green hue of the holographic showed no color of her at all; only the color that holographic phones tend to use.

"Hey wonder boy." She smiled.

"What's up Max? Is this a personal call or something else?" Terry snickered back at her.

"Well...it was going to be personal…but things have happened to make this something else."

"Oh?" Terry said as he raised his voice inquisitively.

"Looks like one of your labs got ransacked tonight…I'm going to need you down here to help out."

"Look can we do this another night…" Terry yawned. "I don't feel like coming down to give a statement and all that."

Max shakes her head negatively at his remark and leans in closer. It almost seems like her hologram moved in closer to him as well.

"Naw, man…you don't get it. I mean I need 'you know who' tonight!"

Terry stops in his yawn and turns around with a sudden realization.

"Oh…him. Be there in a sec then…I'm on my way."

The hologram turns off and Terry double taps on his belt, a quick flash of red light in the middle happens, and suddenly his whole outfit changes, as the slick business suit becomes his dark bat suit. The nano-technology within the fibers allows him to convert the clothes into temporary everyday wear, but once activated, the suit emerges into its true form. The only part that isn't part of it is the jacket sitting on the chair. Reaching into its inner secret pocket, he takes out the old Batman cowl and places on his head to complete the whole outfit.

"Or should I say…Batman is on the way."

Pressing a hidden button underneath the long black table, the glass window suddenly slides to the right and opens half way. Batman jumps out of the window and spreads his arms open in mid-air. The suit wings unfold and he now glides through the city as his boots activate rockets to whisk him away. The building window slides back into place and Batman continues to fly off into the distance.

Part Two –

Standing among a swarm of Gotham Police and their squad cars sitting about the base of Wayne Tech Labs, Commissioner Maxine Gibson walks through the crime scene and the frozen guards still giving a shocked look behind melting ice. The police officers tap on the chilled victims and stand about wondering how to unthaw them.

"Anyone got a flame thrower?" One male officer chuckles.

"How bout a dash of hot sauce?" The other officer quips.

"Ok, knock it off you guys." Maxine orders as she stops to scowl at them. "How bout a little respect for these poor souls, huh? How'd you like it if you were the one under all that ice?"

"I'd be chilly." The officer snickers.

Max didn't think that was funny at all, she walked over to the insubordinate cop and pointed at him with distain.

"Consider yourself on probation…rookie!"

The male officer gulped as he saw the seriousness within her eyes.

As she turns back to one of the victims incased in ice, she lightly rubs her finger on the cold surface and recoils quickly as the chill of it is too much for her flesh to stand. A few gasps from the officers behind makes her turn to see what the rest are all looking up at. Swooping down out of the night sky, Batman lands to the ground gracefully as he folds his suit's wings back and approaches Maxine.

"Bout time you showed up." She smirks.

"What's the story here? Holding a winter carnival?" Batman quips.

"Not exactly, seems we've got a copycat on our hands."

Batman brings his face in close to the iced men and studies them with a careful glare. He too rubs his fingers along the surface of the ice and notices how there's no wetness on his fingers from the heat of his skin touch it.

"Interesting." He mutters. "It's not even melting."

"I know." She nods in agreement. "This can't be who I think it is…can it? I mean, he's long gone right?"

"Maybe."

"What you mean maybe?" She questions. "This is Mr. Freeze's M.O."

"But Mr. Freeze hasn't been around for years…and the fact he's dead." The dark night sighs as he keeps rubbing his fingers as he continues to stare at them.

"You're sure about that?" Max scoffs.

"I was there when the place came crashing down on him." He says looking over at her. "Trust me. Mr. Freeze isn't coming back."

The Commissioner folds her arms and now glances over at the damaged front of the building. The door way is covered in the same ice and looks frosty all down the entrance inward.

"So then who could do all this? If it's not Freeze, then I was right before…we've got a copycat villain on the loose."

"Looks like it." Batman states as he walks towards the building. "Question still remains why he's doing it."

The two walk inside and notice the glittering, frozen corridor as they make their way to the lab at the end. Gibson wipes the walls with her bare hand and shivers from the sheer feel of the substance.

"Man. If I knew this was going to be like this, I would have brought my gloves."

Batman continues on into the lab and scans the room as he enters. A few Gotham PD officers are taking samples and taking hi resolution images for their records. The entire lab is incased in ice, all the equipment and valuable computers virtually untouched by the robbery. He walks in further scouting about the room as he continues to rub the ice with a rather puzzled look. As Maxine enters, one of the officers approaches her and tries to stay warm by rubbing his arms.

"Well, what's the damage Pete?" She asks as she places her cold hands into her coat pockets.

"Brrr." He shivers. "We've used the scanners to trace everything. No finger prints, no DNA left behind, not even foot prints if you can believe that."

"What about the stuff in here?" Gibson says looking beyond his shoulder. "Did he scoop up all the high tech?"

"No, that's what's weird." The officer says as he warms his hands. "Nothing else was taken, except what ever was in that box over there."

As he gestures to the table where the black box sits, she notices Batman hovering over it already and inspecting it with his hands. The dark knight squints his eyes with a continued puzzlement, the label on the box simply reads: Bio-Chip X Wayne Tech.

"Why go to all this trouble to steal one lousy computer chip?" Max asks out loud as she approaches him from behind.

"Something tells me that this was more then just a simple chip." The gruff sounding vigilante states. "This looks more like an abandoned prototype left over from the older Wayne Tech archives."

"Ok…" Max says with sarcasm. "So it's a very old chip then. If it's out dated why take it? Can't be worth much on the black market…"

Batman turns to look at her and taps his chin in thought.

"No. The chip itself is worthless to anyone not knowing what to do with it. My guess is that its only one of many things on this guys 'to do list'."

"What makes you so sure?"

"He left all this valuable equipment." He says pointing at the various objects. "There's supercomputers, the latest in bio-nano-technology, scanners of every kind…but he only takes a chip that was created nearly twenty years ago. He could have made a killing with all this junk…but the chip is what he was really after."

"Why? What's so big about a chip?" Maxine ponders as she paces around him. "It doesn't make sense. Its obsolete technology, certainly not worth doing all this…to these men."

Batman takes out a small pen sized lazer from his belt and cuts off a piece of the non-melting ice. As he takes hold of it, Gibson stops and looks at him pocketing it away.

"You know you're not supposed to take things from the scene of a crime. Right?"

"You gonna stop me?" He smirks playfully.

The commissioner woman lets out a quick laugh and pats his face gently.

"And hold up the world's greatest detective? Not on your life buster."

"You're thinking of the other Batman." He says as he moves her hand away from his face and frowns. "He was the detective. I'm just a guy having to figure out how he did it."

She brings her hand back into her pocket and flips up her jacket collar with the other as she winks at him.

"Spare me the 'I'm not him' speech, ok? Just let me know what you come up with. I'll get my boys on it on this end as well."

As Maxine leaves the room, as do the other officers following behind her, Batman takes out the piece of ice again and stares at it intensely.

"Detective Terry McGinnis...that's me." He sighs dreading the thought. "Who am I kidding? I'm no detective. Maybe her guys will figure it out before I do."

•••••••••••••••••••••••••

In a small apartment on the other side of Gotham City, a figure walks into the place as he unlocks the balcony doors. The knobs freeze quickly in the figure's grip and the hand recoils back from the result of the icy touch. The man growls at himself for such a stupid thing and stands in the open archway as he gives a simple command.

"Cryo-suit off."

The amazing cold suit begins to power down and soon fades to an all black appearance. The blue glow of the detail switches off and begins to smolder with vapor. Now he's able to remove the gloves that seem to slip off like regular cloth. He removes the Helmet off his head as the seal around it unpressurizes to give him fresh air again. Taking in a deep breath, the man chucks his suit helmet onto the near by bed. A clean cut looking guy, blonde hair and looking of Caucasian-Asian decent. Taking the chip out of his suit's only frost-free pouch, the man gives a simple snicker as he studies it.

"Well done my boy." A stale drone voice says from the dark corner of the room.

Turning to the direction it came from, the man sees a masked individual waiting for him in a chair.

"What are you doing here?" He asks him. "I told you we'd meet later. This isn't the place do to this!"

Leaning out of the shadows, the masked person reveals his face in the light. The frozen grin and dark lifeless eyes reveals it to be Batman's newest foe – Mr. Smiley.

"I suppose you think it matters to me?" He says gently touching his hands together. "But then again, I'm not the trusting sort any how. Meeting later, meeting here and now…what does it matter? You've got the merchandise I asked for."

Holding tightly in his hands, the fair-haired man looked at him with anger and held out his other hand.

"Where's my stuff in return?" He demands. "I went to a lot of trouble to get this piece for you…remember our deal. I scratch your back, you scratch mine."

"I have what you asked for." The eerie looking villain says as he rises out of his seat. "What you want is in both our best interests, Gordon. And to prove I'm grateful…"

Smiley reaches into his inner suit pocket and takes out a data disk. He holds it out to him in a non-threatening manner and waits for him to hand over the object he's carrying.

"The complete records of Project Snowman." Mr. Smiley continues. "You're revenge will go as planned with this information."

Gordon, the only name Smiley called him, quickly handed over the old computer chip and snares the disk out of the villain's hands. As he holds the data disk, an insane grin now creeps onto his face.

"I'm going to make them all pay with this."

"I'm sure you will." Smiley nods as he places the chip into his pocket. "I've acquired the other parts for your project, free of charge of course."

"Free?" Gordon questions as he looks at the grinning individual. "I thought you wanted me to get the other things you asked for?"

"Plenty of time for that, Gordon. I want you to get started on your revenge right away…a chilling reminder to those that buried you."

Gordon turns away and looks at himself in the mirror on the wall. His face full of memory as he lowers his eyes and strokes the disk in his hands.

"They blamed me for everything. The scapegoat for all the problems that day, they sent me out into the cold with not a penny to my name. It wasn't my fault the cloning on Victor Fries didn't work, but Powers and the rest of his new group of board members threw me to the wolves and stole everything I ever helped them to build. I still don't know how you managed to get the schematics for this suit…I would have thought they'd locked it all away in a vault somewhere."

"It wasn't easy mind you." The fake smiling villain says rubbing his mask slightly. "But I do have some one working for me…on the inside as it were."

Gordon looked back at him and wondered at what he meant.

"I trust the suit works to your liking?" Smiley inquires suddenly.

"Better then I expected." Gordon smirks. "I don't know how or where you got the material from, but it's doing exactly everything I originally designed it to do."

"I'm so glad you like it."

Balling his fist and grinning with delight, Gordon marveled at the technology he had.

"The neuro-interface response time is much faster and better then I hoped. Once it activates, I'm completely shielded in pure ice cold that nothing…not even lazers could penetrate. The perfect weapon they dared called too extreme. I'll show them all what extreme cold is…now that I have this."

He holds up the disk that Smiley gave him and smirks. As he rubs the plastic covered item in his hand, Smiley clears his throat as to break the man's tranced fix on the computer disk.

"I take it our transaction is done then? I shall take my leave of you."

"I still don't understand something." Gordon says to him as he places the disk on the table in front of the mirror. "Why are you helping me to do all this? What's in it for you?"

"Your enemy is my enemy Gordon." The masked man says with a serious note in his voice. "Powers especially so. That company along with Wayne Enterprises is far too big for their own good. Time we cracked the pair of them and show all of Gotham who really owns this city."

"It's going to be a cold day in hell for the lot of them." Gordon says smiling.

Smiley walks towards the door leading out of the apartment, as he opens the door and steps half way out, he turns his head and snickers.

"I'll let you know where to meet me again tomorrow. Oh and Gordon?"

Gordon looks over at Smiley as he gestures with his fingers along his mask.

"Thanks for making me smile."

As he leaves the room, the villain giggles in a low tone and closes the door behind him. Picking up the disk again and walking over to a computer sitting on the night table close to the bed, Gordon places it into the drive slot and boots up the information. The faint blue light shines on his face as he smirks and peers at the scrolling data.

"Revenge is a dish best served cold."

••••••••••••••••••••••••

Deep below the city of Gotham, in the bowels of the new massive Batcave, Terry sits staring at the large computer screen analyzing the sample he brought back. The computer shows detailed information and the chemical elements it discovers. As he zooms in to have a closer look, a smaller window on the screen targets the area and enlarges the section ten times. The graphics are amazing as it dances about the monitor, small red dots appear near the edge of the microscopic structure and give information about this part he's focused on in yet another scrolling text below.

Terry leans back in the dark leathery chair and gives a sigh. He's still wearing the bat suit, but without the mask on. His eyes dart about the monitor as he tries his best to make sense of it all.

"This is way beyond me." He gruffly states. "I never was one for chemistry."

"That will teach us for skipping those classes." A woman's voice suddenly says from behind him.

As he spins around in his chair, he notices Maxine Gibson walking towards him.

"Thanks for the spare key by the way." She winks at him.

"Funny I don't recall giving you one. How did you manage to get down here?"

She takes out a small device and presses the green button that has the 'play' icon on it.

"Open…" A recorded voice of Terry's says from it.

McGinnis tilts his head back and moans.

"Should have known. That's it…I've got to give it a new password before anyone else discovers this place."

"Relax Bats." She says poke him with her finger. "Your secret is always safe with me…remember?"

She leans on the large computer and looks up at the massive screen showing the composition of the ice sample. Terry spins back in his chair and brings his hands up to his mouth in thought.

"Tell me you found something." She asks.

"From what I can make out, this is no ordinary ice we're dealing with." He says tapping one hand back on the keyboard. "It doesn't melt. At all."

"I kinda figured that." She remarks. "The boys at the lab couldn't figure out why though…it looks like regular ice."

Terry taps the keyboard again and shows her a deeper look into the structure of the sample.

"It's supposed too. I think who ever created this stuff wanted it to look like the real thing. This stuff is literally copycatting liquid elemental structure of regular ice…that is until you get into the sub-molecular particles buried in the make up of it. The kind of science we're dealing with here is nano-technology of a cryogenic nature. Every particle in this matter has a cold fusion cell bonded onto it. I can't even hazard to guess what it would take to melt the stuff."

"Shway…Uh…I mean, this is not good." She nervously grins. "Wait are you saying you don't have a cure for this? What about my guys incased in the stuff?"

Terry stands out of his chair and walks away as he thinks.

"They'll be fine. For now. But if we can't find a way to melt this stuff or get them out before it crystallizes their cell structures…it might kill them."

"So they're going to die?" Max said with a shocked look.

"I'm sorry." McGinnis closed his eyes with a sigh.

Max forcefully turned him around with an intense glare.

"You've got to find a way to get them unthawed Terry! You're Batman!"

Terry broke free from her grip and turned back to the computer.

"I'm not even that! I'm not like Bruce! I can't just figure out what to do - I'm Terry! The guy that slept through biology, science and chemistry."

Max rolls her eyes at him and points to the computer.

"You've got the entire library of like the universe in there Terry! Wayne used it to get answers to riddles he couldn't even figure out. Why can't you?"

McGinnis rubbed his head in embarresment.

"Oh, uh yeah. But, it won't solve the riddle for me."

"Duh." She mockingly snickered. "That's what being detective is all about. You have to do a bit of digging."

Terry sighed in agreement and began typing away.

"Gonna fill me in about what your doing?" Max smirked at him. "Or do I need the secret decoder ring to figure it out."

"I'm having the computer check all current tech on Cryogenics and the scientists invovled in such highly advanced cold fusion weaponary." He grumbled at her. "I'm surprised you even know what a decoder ring is."

"You'd be surprised what you can find on Ebay." She smiled.

"If the old man were here right now, he'd probably would have said the same thing you did. Thanks for giving me a kick in the butt about the computer." The young Dark Knight grinned.

"I know and you're welcome." She giggled. "He and I use to have coffee together and shared stories about you."

Terry suddenly stopped working on the computer and looked at her in shock.

"What?"

"Uhm – I mean, uh." She stammered and looked back up at monitor. "I - I think the computer might have found something. Looks like it found the guy that created that super ice."

The computer pulled up data on the one person that Terry had a familiar past with. The image came up as large as life while the information scrolled on the side.

"Victor Fries." Terry grunted in his Batman voice.

"You mean Mr. Freeze?" Max questioned. "But I thought you told me he was dead?"

Terry hunched over the controls as he eyed the information.

"He is - at least - I thought he was. But he's fooled this city so many times - even the old man never really thought it was over. Still, it can't be him."

"How do you know?"

"It's just - I dunno."

"A hunch?" She smiled in coy manner.

"Yeah." Terry grinned. "A hunch. Like a detective would get."

As he scrolled down the list, he noticed the various technologies Victor once used.

"There - " He pointed to the screen. "Freeze once created a massive ice cannon to send Gotham into a deep cold. Wayne found several prototypes in a warehouse Victor was using as his hideout. Seems like he was having a problem keeping the city cold enough for it to work. So he adapted one to use mirco-coldfusion cells to adapt the atmosphere. It used the same nano-tech as whoever put the gaurds on ice."

"Chilling." She smirked.

"There's more." Terry interupted. "He was also working with someone on development on the weapon. But they never found the guy. Apparently, he slipped away when the whole weapon blew up. Bruce had his hands full trying to save Gotham."

"Is this the Pre-bat family days or after?" The female commisioner asked.

"Much later." Terry again answered in his Batman tone. "In fact…that was the day Bruce started wearing the new suit. This one. It was designed to adapt to the cold. Freeze finally got put in jail…at least his head did. Turns out that's all he had left of his body."

"Until that day he came back." She nodded. "And took his revenge on Powers."

Terry leaned back in the chair and rubbed his chin. His mind was full of unanswered questions about all of this. Still he squinted on the data until his eyes met with a bit of info he didn't notice before.

"Wait a minute." He said pointing to the monitor again. "The other guy that was working on the weapon with him. He wasn't being held hostage by Mr. Freeze…he was helping him."

"So? He's another bad guy that ran off."

"Exactly." Terry said standing up. "A guy with scientific knowledge of what that stuff can do, a guy with a big chip on his shoulder, a guy with something to prove to the world. And there's only one person that could give me a name to that guy.'

"Who?"

"Mr. Freeze."

"Uh…McGinnis." She tapped on his shoulder. "Hate to break it to you…but you just told me Freeze is cold dead honey."

Terry flips up the bat suit cowl and turns around.

"Maybe…" His thoaty voice growls. "Or maybe…he's still down there. Beneath Gotham City."

She stood up and backed away as she noticed his eyes peer through the black suit. Seeing Terry as Batman, always gave her a slight uneasy chill.

"You're not going down to the…I mean….it's buried! Power's son rebuilt the place right over top of it. You'll never get down there."

Looking over his shoulder, he smirked as he saw somethat might do the trick. High above one of the many cave platforms, stood a giant mech suit that looked twice as menacing as he did in his regular suit.

"Got it covered."

Max glanced over to it as well and grins.

"Oh man, you get all the cool toys."

•••••••••••••••••••••••••

Jason Smythe sits at his desk quietly as a gourp of business men hover around him looking very nervous. The tycoon gives a few long sighs and shifts about in his seat as he looks at something in the distance. At the far end of the office, one employee holds a large sign as it reads: Wayne/Powers Inc. - Welcomes You To the New Company!

"Well, Mr. Smythe?" One of the suited men asked as sweat formed on his brow. "What do you think? Good?"

"Wayne slash Powers?" Smythe's voice started to raise. "That's the best you idiots could come up with?"

"But – but – but sir?" Another nervous employee spoke. "That's what the company will be called once we do the merge."

Jason slammed his fist on the table with anger. His eyes flare and his teeth grit at the man's words.

"Once we do the merge? ONCE?! The merge is as good as good as gold! And as for this Wayne/Powers idea…forget it! We're already called that you slags! I paid you all to create a new name, a new icon for my new company!"

The men all gasped at him as he stood up from his chair and walked over to the sign. Grabbing hold of it forcefully, he tore it in half and threw it on the ground like a spoiled child.

"When that McGinnis kid signs over all of Wayne Industry to this company, I'm going to officially announce a new name that will wipe away all the old rivalry."

Smythe storms over to the grand windows behind him that stretch up to the ceiling high above. The view from his office is impressive and high above the city itself. The man clenched his hand behind his back and relaxed his temper as he continued to speak.

"No more Waynes…no more Powers…this company has seen the end to such bitter conflicts. One that's caused nothing but trouble for Gotham City. The time has come to take charge and be the sole corporate identity that will be responsible for bringing this place back to it's crowning glory. Gotham will once again be a city that decent folk can live in."

All the men clap at his noble speech and smile. They all praise his wise words and shake his hand with glee.

"Are you trying to run a company or run for mayor?" A soft woman's voice inquired.

Smythe turned about to see Dana standing at the door way of his office with a raised eyebrow of concern.

"Dana!" He said with a pleasant voice. "My darling! I didn't know you were coming today."

"I thought I would surprise you….surprise!" She smiled.

Jason gestured to the others to leave him alone with her; they were all rushing out the minute he did so. Once the door slammed shut and the two embraced, they started kissing each other passionately and giving long loving stares to one another.

"I love you." Smythe grinned with joy.

"I love you too." She cooed. "But why are you so happy about Terr handing over the company to you?"

"Oh sweetie." He giggled as he held her hand gently. "You know how I get about mergers, I'm a man of money. This is my joy in life, you know that of course."

Dana nodded realizing this was so, she held his hand back and gave a long sigh as she glanced at the ripped sign on the floor.

"It seems so cruel though. About Terr I mean…he'll have nothing."

"He'll hardly have nothing my love." Smythe scoffed. "He's getting one hell of a settlement and a good chunk of stock in the company once it's done. He won't be going poor…but…he won't be making the kinds of money Bruce Wayne once did."

"I guess so." Dana stated in a somber tone.

Jason held her in his arms and rubbed her back for comfort.

"Don't worry my darling. He'll be fine. I'm going to have lunch with him tomorrow, why don't you come with me and we'll make it a fun day, huh? Come on…I know he'll be glad to see you, especially now that you've recovered from that terrible ordeal."

Again she nodded in agreement with him and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

" You always know what to say to make me feel better don't you?"

"Of course my love." Smythe smiled back at her. "I know everything about you and more."

They held each other in a tight embrace. Dana closed her eyes as she hugged him, feeling the love for this man that was just undescribable. Jason on the other hand, kept his eyes open and looked beyond the woman he was holding.

"Everything about you….and more." He stated again in a cold fashion.

•••••••••••••••••••••

Deep below the surface of Gotham City, busting through the ruins of the original Powers building that lay beneath the current tower, Batman enters into a open pocket of space that wasn't filled with derbis long ago. The massive Mech-suited Bat powered down its mighty drill hands as it flipped open two flood lights on either arm. Walking through the open area, the ground shook from the sheer weight of the metal feet. Batman scanned the area with lasers piercing the cold empty section and continued forward as he combed through every inch of it.

"Nothing so far." He muttered to himself.

Suddenly, the lasers focused to an area covered in broken cement walls. The imposing Bat-suit quickly came over to it and started to pull away the large, heavy slabs. The mech-suit was incredibly strong. The pieces were like Styrofoam and could easily be tossed aside with minimal effort. As he came closer to the centre, he saw something that looked like ice. At first, he denied it, but as he continued to pull away the debris it became all too clear.

"Freeze." He muttered in shock.

Incased in the block of frozen ice was a figure locked in a pose. It was indeed Mr. Freeze. With his arm raised up, the mad scientist still wore the modernized suit he had on before their last confrontation. It looked perfectly intact and imposing as ever. Batman came in closer to inspect and tapped on the solid frozen object with curiosity.

"You did manage to survive." The vigilante again muttered to himself. "But if you're still stuck down here….then…who…"

A pair of rounded red eyes peered out of Freeze's darkened helmet. They looked at Batman with intensity and shone through the ice like headlights.

"Batman…" He spoke slowly. "Have you finally come to retrieve me?"

"You're alive?" Batman replied with surprise. "That's impossible."

"Though I wish it was not." He sighed. "I am as I am. Immortal and doomed to live on in the coldness of time."

"I should leave you."

"You should… yes." He agreed. "But something tells me you aren't here just because you were feeling nostalgic. Why are you here? Why can't you just leave me in peace?"

Terry wasn't sure what to do. He should just put the cement walls back over him and leave. That's all Victor Fries deserved for the suffering and deaths he caused over the years. Yet he did manage to save his life when they last met and let the building collapse on top of him. Was it enough to forgive though? He wasn't Bruce, not by a long shot. Terry at least tried to see the good in everyone, even a man like Mr. Freeze.

"It seems you've got a doppleganger. Or should say…some type of fanboy stealing your thunder."

"I beg your pardon?" Victor's rounded eyes narrowed slightly.

"There's someone running around up in Gotham with a suit almost like yours. Only this one uses permanent ice to freeze its victims. Care to shed any light on what could do that?"

"What makes you think I would even know about it." He snickered back. "You're not as well informed as the previous Batman are you? Nor share the same level of intelligence. I've been stuck down here for many years. With only my mind to keep me occupied. There's nothing I would know to help you, nothing of use anyways."

"Well then…" Batman frowned at him. "Guess we've got nothing left to say to one another. Insults not withstanding, I thought maybe you'd know the type of science the man was using. Seeing how it was based on your micro-cold fusion nano-tech."

"My work was always being used." He answered back with disinterest. "They made this suit for me, they even replicated by cold ray into its design. Why not ask those people instead of me?"

"Because…" Batman sighed. He didn't want to ask it, he was dreading to ask this man for help, but he was the only one who could understand the scientific nature of the cold fusion tech. "I need you. People are dying from those micro cold fusion reactors bonded to their bodies. And you're right, I'm not as smart as the last Batman, but I'm trying my best to live up to the mantle. But you're the one man who might know how to shut them down. So, I've come to you….Victor, to help me one last time."

"Why should I care?" Freeze muttered. "I have no feelings about those people one way or the other. I'm as cold as the ice and snow, your appeal to my emotional state means nothing. Just bury me again and leave."

Terry didn't have time for this lack of empathy. Freeze was the only one who could reverse those cold cells and free the people encased with ice. He used his Bat-mech suit, punched the ice until it shattered and broke the villain free. Mr. Freeze rose up and pointed his arm cannon right at Batman's head.

"You think by doing this I'll help you? Pathetic." Victor smirked.

"You're going to help me." Batman replied with determination. "Even if I have to drag you there in pieces. But I have a feeling you'd really like to find out who exactly is using your name and your suit."

Mr. Freeze charged his cannon arm and prepared to fire at the Dark Knight, but then suddenly he switched it off and lowered it down. His eyes, flashed and looked up at the surface beyond.

"Yes." He quipped. "That, if anything, is the only reason I will agree to join you. Very well. Lead the way….Batman."

Deep down Terry knew this was a huge mistake, but he had no choice. He shook hands with Mr. Freeze and headed back towards the surface with him. Gotham would now have two villains to worry about - but he would keep a very close eye on this one at least.


	3. The Legacy Series Rundown

Hello and welcome to my rundown of the series I was going to do a very long while back. So why didn't I? Because I don't have the time like I did back then. If I could have done this full time as a real job…you bet I would have written this thing! But no… life is funny that way.

Instead I'm busy authoring my own creations and trying to establish new characters. If you've been a fan of this fan fiction, why not check out my original stuff? I'd love to hear what you thought and maybe bring you with me on my journey as a writer. The link is and the end…. Check me out, ok?

So….

The Series -

Batman Beyond: The Legacy Continues

The titles:

Frozen In Time

Plot rundown –

A familiar villain terrorizes Gotham as the return of Mr. Freeze sends Terry hot on his trail. But to his surprise, the person committing the crime is not the same man he thought it was. Sporting a tightly fitting cryo-suit and wielding a frosty touch that can blast pure cold around him, the man introduces himself as the old villain. To confirm this fact, Terry delves deep into the Gotham waters to where the original Victor Fries lays on the bottom to see if he is in fact still alive. The new Freeze is actually Gordon Glacial, ex-Powers employee trying to black mail the company for destroying his career after Victor's cloning process was blamed on him. Now he allies himself with Mr. Smiley, who gives him weapons and the motivation to take on both Powers and the newly formed McGinnis Industries.

Result: The suit begins to bond to his skin and cannot take it off, if he does, it will render him brittle and he will flash freeze to death. Molecules of freon have entered his blood stream and now make him totally dependant on the suit. Victor Fries helps Terry one last time to his final end. The two Freeze villains combat and both lose in the end. Batman thinks that Smythe's aid, Mr. Winters is Mr. Smiley and keeps a close eye on him from here on out.

Nightwing Beyond

Plot Rundown - Dick Grayson is brutally attacked by thugs of the Jokerz Gang in Bludhaven and his apprentice - Nightwing - heads to Gotham City to solve the attack. Batman runs into Nightwing and the two challenge each other to solve the mystery before the other. The Jokerz are being led by the twin pair, Dee Dee. They've returned to settle an old score with Grayson and Barbra Gordon as well. Barbra is confronted with the twins and tries her best to ditch the duo. But Nightwing and Batman conflict with each other too much as their past unfolds.

Result - Nightwing is Matt McGinnis. He discovered Terry's secret and tried to join him as a Robin. But it was short lived as the two bickered about out to stop the criminals. Matt decided to join with Grayson after Terry contacted him to train his brother properly. Now as Nightwing, Matt and Terry butt heads and discover they can't work with each other. The Dee Dee Girls are captured by them and sent to jail. While both brothers are bad as a super team, they still love each other as brothers and end up going to dinner in the end. Mr. Smiley sends the girls a message in jail telling them "To prepare for the real fun, and Thank you, for the smile."

Hologram Chaos

Plot rundown – An inventor of Holographic games becomes obsessed with his creations and uses his new Holo-field projector to terrorize Gotham City for fun. Batman finds defeating these Holograms harder than he thinks as the images are able to withstand anything he throws at it. Smiley locates the man he now calls -The Gamer, and forces him to do his bidding or else he'll activate a virus into Gamer's main hard drive. Batman uses his skills and computer knowledge to track the holographic game monsters source and comes face to face with a hologram he did not expect to combat…the original Batman.

Result: Out witting the old version of Batman, Terry proceeds to destroy the hard drive while The Gamer manages to escape both Batman and Smiley with his only holo-imager left available…we leave with him swearing revenge on both the Dark Knight and Mr. Smiley for trying to "play games" with him.

Bloom Of The Ivy

Plot Rundown - Unearthed from the aftermath of Gotham's earthquake, a collector finds a giant seed pod and keeps it as part of his collection. Now, many years later, he has successfully cultivated back to life. The pod opens and a woman steps out. She claims to be the daughter of Poison Ivy and exacts revenge on Gotham for killing her mother. Batman tries to stop her, but finds that she is deadlier then the previous Ivy. One touch of her skin or breath from her mouth will instantly infect and kill people. Terry must also deal with going to a rehearsal dinner for Smythe and Dana's wedding - which is where the new Poison Ivy unleashes her final revenge.

Result - Batman finds a cure for her skin poison and contains her with the aid of Mr. Freeze's gun that Bruce Wayne kept in a safe at Wayne Tech. Unfortunately, Mr. Smiley discovers the secret safe room at Wayne Tech (Terry unknowingly had a tracker on him) and steals many other items.

Face To Face

Plot Rundown - A string of robberies occurs as a man with an interchangeable face plagues Gotham's rich elite. The media dubs him False Face (comparing him to the previous one who died in arkham asylum). False Face proves hard to catch for both Terry and as Batman, the villain can change at will with cybernetic implants. He can even change sex. Terry and Max develop a more intimate relationship as they try to solve the crime together.

Result - False Face is an android that became self aware and was trying to buy his freedom off this world. Batman convinces False Face to end the criminal life and make become something better. The Android agrees and just as the two end on a positive note, Mr. Smiley shows up and destroys False Face with the new weapons he stole from Wayne Tech. Batman now has a new problem - The Jokerz are armed and ready for a war.

War Of The Jokers

Plot Rundown - The Jokerz gang have been battling Batman for weeks now, Gotham is a battle ground and the military has come to help the GCDP - and Batman. Dana and Smythe prepare to leave Gotham City for good and postponing the wedding until the conflict is over. Batman calls upon the Justice League to help, but they refuse. Terry asks Superman why he won't save his city…and Superman tells him they will only help with an ultimatum - join the Justice League for good, or he's on his own.

Result - Terry is out of options and has no choice but to agree to Superman's terms. But there's something going on in the Justice League, they seem colder and less inclined to help. Even the new Green Lantern has these concerns as he talks with Batman. Unknown to everyone there, Superman and most of the rest of the League is being controlled by someone that implanted a microscopic device in their brain.

Justice League Shatters

Plot Rundown - The Justice League manages to stop the Jokerz and return Gotham to the police. But when Superman is about to shake Batman's hand to join them as member of the Justice League, he suddenly changes his mind and condemns Batman as reason for Gotham's downfall. The Justice League tells Gotham City to surrender him to their authority and prepare him for execution. This is a shock to all. Even those not under control in the league, they now begin an all out war against each other and Gotham is unable to stop them.

Terry manages to escape. Someone helps him by giving him clues about the possible microscopic devices and Green Lantern aids Batman to seek out where the signal is coming from.

Result - The figure controlling the League is Mr. Smiley. He managed to use the Wayne Tech to control half of the Justice League. Batman destroys the link and the Justice League returns to normal. But Terry refuses to join them ever again. Mr. Smiley escapes and plots his next challenge for Batman. Max and Terry have a fight and they decide to end their romantic relationship. But Max gets a call to her office and is stunned. She tells the caller - "he must never know."

Freedom Is A Hard Thing To Keep

Both Dee Dee Girls are out of Jail and are placed in their very aged Nana Harley's care. Both Girls fail to listen to the old woman as she warns them of the dangerous life. The two start crime sprees again and keep getting caught by Batman. Each time they arrested, Mr. Smiley grows angrier with them. He warns them to lay low till the time is right or he will cut them out of the gang. Of course, they don't listen and do crime once more. Batman finally visits Harley Quinn and asks her the origin of the twin Dee Dee girls….more importantly, if they are the daughters of the Joker.

Result - The Joker is not the father. Or the Grandfather for that matter. The Joker never had any child with her….. ever. Harley met a church minister and changed her life around. She had a girl with him and raised her properly. But the daughter became a criminal, she had twins from a lover and ended up dying from a robbery gone wrong. Trying her best to keep them out of the typical Gotham crime life, the twin girls eventually joined the Jokerz Gang like many teens did. Batman saved the twin Dee Dees as Mr. Smiley tried to kill them off. Grateful for his help, they swore to change their lives and stay free. Terry helped the pair out by calling a friend - Wonder Woman. She came to bring the two to Themyscira, to live, train and become warrior women of honour.

This Is Not The Batman You Are Looking For

Plot Rundown - a street kid finds the bat suit that Terry dropped by accident. He puts on the suit and tries to scam citizens of money and impress the women. But with the suit, trouble always follows. Various gangs, police and infamous villains run into him and think he's the real deal. Constantly running away, the street kid is terrified and can't take off the suit for some reason.

Result - The suit has a locking failsafe that can't be broken without the code word. Terry shows up at the last minute (before the street kid is beaten to death by Jokerz) and saves him. The kid is grateful and hands him back the suit (once Terry gives the code word - Shway). Terry asks if he'd like a new job since he was doing pretty good in the suit. The kid agrees and is introduced to the Teen Titans. They give him a new suit and call him - Robin.

Shall We Play A Game?

Plot Rundown - The Gamer returns and manages to capture both Batman and Mr. Smiley together. Stuck in a Holographic simulation, they must figure out how to escape his trap before it kills both of them. Reluctantly, both men agree to work together and figure out a path out of the deadly hologram made to look like a zombie apocalypse. Batman is left on his own as Mr. Smiley tricks him and knows how to avoid all the traps.

Result - The Gamer is puzzled how Mr. Smiley could know the game that he created, but soon realizes who he really is. Batman manages to cheat his way through using various gadgets and finds The Gamer in a coma. Mr. Smiley managed to get to him first. Looking for clues, Terry discovered who owns the rights to the game….Powers Industries.

The Beginning Of The End - Part 1

Plot Rundown - The story begins with batman is on the run from the GCPD, he makes a final recording while badly hurt. He says Max is relentlessly gunning to have him brought to justice. The backstory begins with the marriage starting of Dana and Smythe. Winters is cornered by Batman and reveals that he is not Mr. Smiley, but is in fact the former Justice League member - The Question. He's been working undercover and watching Smythe for sometime. Winters (The Question) provides Terry with all the facts and helps him to realize that Smythe is Mr. Smiley. Batman tries to stop the wedding, by breaking in at the last second, and finds that he's too late. Smythe has married Dana. Smythe accuses Batman of trying to assassinate him and has the police hunt for him. Terry has no where to go. Max is no longer on his side, she leads the task force and tracks him to every place he could hide….even his new Batcave.

Result - Batman is on the run with only his suit and his bat wing car. Smythe confesses to Dana his real identity and shows her the tank containing Joker's body. He hypnotizes her with a device and makes her love him unconditionally. We discover that Max was also compromised by him earlier as she joins them in his lair.

The Beginning Of The End - Part 2

Plot Rundown - Terry continues his final recording while in hiding and finishes the story. Mr. WInters (now revealed to be The Question) helps Terry hide from Mr. Smiley and brings him to yet another hidden Bat Cave. The Question tells Terry that Bruce Wayne was murdered by Smythe. The medicine was laced with poison (a formula once used by Poison Ivy). It was an attempt to lure him (Terry) back to Gotham and systematically destroy him as both Batman and Terry McGinnis. The Question knows Terry is the legitimate son of Bruce (he discovered Amanda Waller's file of the project: Batman Beyond). Terry confides to Winters/The Question that Dana Tan had her mind wiped in a struggle with Spellbound which caused him to kill the villain in a rage. He was so ashamed of it that he decided to end his life as Batman and leave Gotham City to better himself. Dana lost five years of memory due to the drama, and knew nothing of his bat persona. Terry decided to let her have a life of her own, breaking off their engagement and freeing her from any more danger of being with him. The Question said that Spellbound's mind manipulator was now in the hands of Mr. Smiley. He could control anyone he wanted. Max was obeying his every command….so was Dana. Dana took charge of Powers Inc. while Smythe enjoyed his vengeance against Batman.

Result - Batman finally ends his recording to the point they've arrived at. He surrenders to Max and is taken straight to Smythe in his lair. Once inside, he sees Joker's floating skeletal remains floating in the tank. Only Smythe can hear Joker talking to him and explains to Terry that he is the illegitimate son of the Joker. Terry laughs and tells him the truth. The Joker had no children - because the Joker was unable to have any. Terry had visited Harley after the twin Dee Dee girls where released from prison. She told him that the girls were from another man. Joker wanted no children and was sterile (Harley said that "he made sure of it")…. Smythe (after much research from The Question) was nothing more than an abandoned child who idolized The Joker and convinced himself he was his son. This drove Smythe insane and wildly lashed out at him. In the battle, the tank broke and the joker's body fell onto of Smythe - as well as all of the chemicals preserving the body. (The chemicals contained a mixture of enzymes and man made genetic materials that not only preserves dead tissue, it also bonds to the DNA structure.)

After Batman had freed Max and Dana from their Spellbound hypnosis, they find he is dying from a large chunk of the tank glass that impaled his spine after the struggle.

Both women cry as he dies in their arms. Smythe is alive…but must forever be contained in the same chemicals the Joker skeleton was in. Or he will die from mutation from being bathed (and swallowing massive amounts) of the chemical mixture. They place him into New Arkham Asylum where they can keep watch.

Years later, standing at the foot of a grave, the recording of Terry continues to speak.

"I'm sorry you have to live this way. I'm sorry I won't be there for you. I only found out by accident myself. I don't blame your mother…and you shouldn't either. I wish I could be there with you, but that's what being Batman is, always alone in the dark. But you don't have to be. Be better and never be alone. I love you…whoever you turn out to be…boy or girl…..I will always be with you."

An older Max steps up to the young man standing at the grave and turns off the recording device. She hugs him and says he would have been a good father. The young black son looks up to her and nods. While she walks back to the car, they young boy takes out the futuristic bat-o-rang and opens it up. The next Batman is about to begin again.

This was to be the next series I was going to create, it was going to be titled - Batman Infinity.

His son - Bruce, carries on the mantle of Batman as Gotham City is reborn as a floating city over the old one laying in ruins. (A major battle with The New Legion of Doom and the Justice League levelled it to the ground.) Bruce is thrust into the crime ridden mega-city as his mother (The Mayor) is killed by a familiar laughing man. The Joker. Having escaped his imprisonment (A cult resurrected him from New Arkham Asylum) Mr. Smiley's transformation had turned him into The Joker. Bruce is now dedicated to protecting Gotham City from the newly crowned prince of crime.

That was pretty much my whole arc I wanted to do. Everything is there if anyone wants to carry it on or not. Just remember to give me a nod for the premise and creation. That's all I ask.

\- Jeff Walker

jeffwalkerbooks

.com


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